Hello Dave's. I've been an ESL teacher in Japan for the past 2 years and it's time for something different!

I like living in Japan, but more and more I've been wanting to see other parts of the world as well, and am a bit burnt out on teaching- so I've been looking at some other options for international travel/work. WWOOFing has stuck out to me as something that could be an interesting experience for a little while.

Does anyone here have any experience doing WWOOFing? Any suggestions or advice? I've been researching up on it- but just looking for any additional tips or experiences from people who have actually gone through with it.

If you have, what country did you WWOOF in? How long did you do it for? What was your experience like and what would you suggest/recommend to people just starting out?

Rakuten:
You're not likely to get much in the way of responses on this forum. However, I did a quick Internet search for you and found the following link dedicated to the subject: http://www.wwoof-forum.com/

Rakuten:
You're not likely to get much in the way of responses on this forum. However, I did a quick Internet search for you and found the following link dedicated to the subject: http://www.wwoof-forum.com/

Thanks for the link NS!

This is a good link, and there are some other web resources out there in regards to this system, but I specifically wanted to ask Dave's just to see if anyone had done it after coming from ESL teaching/being an ESL teacher abroad.

Maybe they had some thought on what the transition might be like, or some of the hardships they faced- coming from an experience or perspective I might be able to understand/relate to a little better. After 2 years of settling into/being in Japan, I'm a little nervous about uprooting/starting all over again and was also looking on some suggestions as how to mentally prepare for that as well.

You're approaching this from the wrong angle, Rakuten. It makes more sense to go on a WWOOF forum and ask the members if any have previously taught EFL and if so, what was the transition like for them. That's where you'll get answers. Otherwise, you're counting on a response, on this unrelated forum, from posters who have taught EFL, subsequently quit to work on an organic farm somewhere, and then returned to TEFL. Yet, I'd bet the farm ( ) that a huge majority of the members on Dave's ESL Cafe (myself included) are presently teaching in schools/universities and not plucking veggies from the earth for a living.

Yet, I'd bet the farm ( Wink ) that a huge majority of the members on Dave's ESL Cafe (myself included) are presently teaching in schools/universities and not plucking veggies from the earth for a living.

You know, in my idle moments, I think about becoming more self-sufficient. I already grow quite a lot of my veg, produce about a litre of oil a year (pathetic, I know) but have enough land to do a lot more if time permitted. I've also thought about getting a loan to buy the ruin and land next door, then sucker in, sorry, invite people to come and stay for free board and lodging to help me rebuild it / turn it into a yoga retreat or commune + organic farm. I normally get stuck on the "getting a loan" bit of the plan. But it's such a shame to see so much "potential" going to waste.

Unless you particularly love farms, I wouldn't bother with WWOOF and would try something like helpx.net or WorkAway.

I've done a fair bit of HelpX in Europe and would highly recommend it. Same setup as WWOOF in terms of food/board for work, but much more variety in what you can do! Of course there are organic farms, but also renovation work, ground keeping, building projects, boat crew, hippy commune kinda stuff, hotel work and all sorts of other stuff. There are even some ESL volunteering jobs haha! Often it's just people who will put you up and feed you if you help them or their kids learn English, although I never did any of these.

I did mostly renovation help exchanges, going from not knowing how to work a drill to helping to rebuild the roof of medieval castle! Also did a bit of work in a great hotel in the Alps where we had our own chalet, plenty of free alcohol and constant access to the many fridges and freezers in the restaurant! Had the time of my life hitchhiking across Europe and resting in various places along the way for a couple of weeks, you should go for it! Such a great way to travel and really get to know a country and its people more than you would in some city hostel.

If you want any more tips or whatever feel free to PM me, although I've only done it in Europe and can't speak for anywhere else. Join up fee is about 20 Euros or so, worth every cent.